BOY band Blue will be joined by one of the country's biggest girl bands in Huddersfield this summer.

For it has emerged that Girls Aloud will be the support act for the spectacular gig at the McAlpine Stadium on July 31.

Girls Aloud found fame after winning TV show Popstars: The Rivals in November, 2002. They then went on to top the charts almost immediately.

Blue's debut album, All Rise, went straight in to top the charts.

Tickets for the concert go on sale tomorrow and will cost between £22 and £28.

The appearance of both bands is a major boost for the stadium, which had seen plans for an Elton John concert collapse.

Sir Elton was pencilled in to play on June 12, but instead he is flying to Austria for a concert in Vienna on June 13 to mark the 51st birthday of grocery chain Billa.

Blue's visit to Huddersfield will form part of their current UK tour. Blue and Girls Aloud will play in front of up to 35,000 fans at the McAlpine.

The concert will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the opening of the award-winning £35m stadium.

Clr John Smithson, Kirklees Council Cabinet member for culture and leisure services, said he was delighted the bands were coming .

Clr Smithson, who is also a council-appointed director of the stadium management company, said: "It was sad that Elton John could not make it.

"But Blue and Girls Aloud will be just as good - and maybe they will have a wider appeal. It's wonderful news. It will be wonderful entertainment for everyone and I'm quite sure people will be delighted that the stadium has secured such outstanding groups, who I know are hugely popular," he said.

"People should get tickets early to avoid disappointment.

"It is fantastic and a real boost for Huddersfield, Kirklees and, of course, the stadium.

"There are efforts being made to secure more groups like this," added Clr Smithson.

General unreserved seats in the stadium's John Smith Stand, the South Stand, lower tiers of the Lawrence Batley Stand and on-pitch places cost £22.

Reserved seats in the upper tier of the Lawrence Batley Stand will cost £25 to £28.

For general unreserved seat tickets, phone Holmfirth Tourist Information Centre on 01484 22244 or Huddersfield TIC on 01484 223200. Alternatively, people can visit either centre.

* Formed in November, 2002, from the popular reality TV show Popstars: The Rivals, featuring pop Svengali Pete Waterman, Louis Walsh and ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell. Opposing boy and girl bands were picked to battle it out in the UK charts.

* Girls Aloud beat their male rivals, One True Voice, when they topped the charts with the double A-side, Sounds of The Underground/Stay Another Day.